Obstacles
by HarryPotterTwin
Summary: Every night since she sacrificed Chloe Price, Max Caulfield relives their last encounter atop the cliff overlooking the bay. Her heart is broken, and her mind is numb as she thinks over the worst decision she has ever made, to sacrifice the woman she loves.


What is UP guys? I know,I know. I know what you're thinking. "Uh, Amy? You said you'd update For Those You Love more often! But we're waiting for an update three months later!"

Well, gals, guys, and everyone in between, there's been a lot going on for me! Can I get a drumroll? No? OOOhhhhh kay. Well... the big news is...

I GOT BACK INTO COLLEGE!

That's right lads and lasses, your very own HPTwin is officially going back into education voluntarily to study Video Game Design! Then, after that, I'm off to University to get my degree! So, in prep, I'm going to be having less free time in order to write. I'm trying to get as much down as possible, but I promise you that the next chapter of For Those You Love will be a doozy! I'm aiming for about 10,000 words at least!

So hang onto your hats, and enjoy the little lull between fics!

Love y'all!3

* * *

 _ **Obstacles**_  
 _ **A Life is Strange Fanfic**_

Chaos. Absolute Chaos.

That was the only way Maxine Caulfield could describe what was going on around her at that precise moment in time.

Wind whipped around her as she laid on the muddy ground of the Cliffside that overlooked Arcadia Bay, watching the ever-imminent tornado that was crashing its way towards the town she'd grown up in. Her heart ached within her chest at the thought of all of her friends, who she knew were trapped inside buildings down there, oblivious to the fact that their death was coming closer with each passing second.

And all she could think was that she was to blame. She'd caused this in her immature naiveté over the past week, in which she had used her new-found 'rewind' ability to her advantage a little too much. As it turned out, what she thought had been a simple, innocent fluke and chance gift of being able to reverse time and put things right around Arcadia Bay, was in fact her inked signature on the death warrant of her friends.

"Max? Max! Can you hear me?!" A voice cut through the whistling in the air, originating from somewhere over to Max's right side. The source of the voice, she found, belonged to none other than her best friend, Chloe. There was no mistaking her bright blue hair, after all.

That seemed to give her the kick up the backside she needed to scramble her way up to a sitting position, forcing herself to focus on the girl by her side. "C-Chloe…? I… I must've passed out… I'm sorry…" She managed to mutter, brushing her brown, shoulder-length hair from her face with the back of her hand almost automatically, as it was almost as if her brain was elsewhere.

Of course, unbeknownst to the blue-haired girl beside her, that's exactly what was happening. After rewinding time for the umpteenth time in the space of an hour, the entirety of the Space-Time continuum had imploded, presenting her with various nightmarish situations. One of the more notable ones was being hunted down by what seemed to be every man in her life, including (strangely enough) the school janitor she'd befriended over a mutual love for animals and nature.

Completely oblivious to her companion's distress, relief flooded through Chloe Price, her shoulder's sagging and her face softening. "Oh, thank fucking God… Don't you ever damn well do that again, okay?" She mumbled, in-turn scrambling towards the other girl, with her hand outstretched, in order to help her if she were to stumble or lose her balance.

"I-I swear…" Max muttered, her voice coming out strained as she stood, with the help of the other teenager. Her eyes turned towards the storm, and she seemed to pale even moreso than she already was, her grey jacket now clinging to her skin in the downpour. "B-but that nightmare was so real…" A grimace formed, and she gently took the hand Chloe had rested atop hers. "It was so horrible…"

She took a moment for herself, fully taking in the entirety of the situation presented to her. God, this was bad… This was very, very bad…

"This is my storm…" She whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the wind, even to Chloe who was standing barely a foot away from her. "I-I caused this… I caused _**all**_ of this…"

By now, her voice had raised, and she was verging on what seemed to be a full-on panic attack, as her hand came up to run through her hair in distress. "I-I-I changed fate and destiny so much that I actually did alter the course of everything!" She turned to the blue-haired girl, who was just looking on with a mystified, horrified expression written plainly on her face, and gestured out towards the cyclone in distress. "And all—All I created – All I really created was death and destruction!"

It was there, seeing just how far gone her friend was becoming, and just how shallow each of Max's breaths sounded, that Chloe stepped forward, blue hair and beanie whipping to the side in the wind, and her hand coming to rest on her arm, dragging her around to look her in the eyes. "No! Max Caulfield—Fuck all of that! You were giving a goddamn power! You didn't ask for it! And you s—" She cut herself off, taking a breath in, before speaking again, her voice cracking due to pure stress. "And you saved me."

"All of that had to happen. All of this did. Everything except what happened to Rachel. But—without your superpower, we would never have found her!"

Rachel Amber, Chloe's best friend during the half decade Max had moved away from Arcadia Bay had been the entire reason this had started, if they really truly thought everything through. Chloe had been targeting Nathan Prescott in order to get money to fix up her truck, so the two girls could up sticks and move to LA. This led to Chloe being drugged; only giving the girl more ammunition against the boy, who had already kidnapped and accidentally murdered the girl in question.

It was in a confrontation between Chloe and Nathan that Max had discovered she'd developed the ability to reverse time. After seeing Nathan enter the girl's bathroom, talking to himself in the mirror, Max had hidden around the corner, in amongst various hand-dryers and janitor's cleaning fluids, where she'd taken a photo not even two minutes beforehand of a butterfly landing on a bucket.

Then Chloe had entered, and the conversation had heated up; ending with a gunshot coming from the weapon Nathan had procured, which killed the blue haired girl on the spot. The brunette had immediately reacted at the sound, stepping out with her hand outstretched, a loud 'no' screeching from her lips as she did so.

And then she remembered waking back up in class— now sporting a slight headache along with major confusion and dizziness, but she somehow managed to bluff her way back to the bathroom, where she cracked open the fire alarm, unknowingly saving who had once been—and had since been—her best friend.

"So no," Chloe continued, as if there was no pause between her words, her hands now moving to her best friend's shoulders to reiterate her words, further punctuating each syllable of her name. "You're not the motherfucking time-master. But you are _**Maxine Caulfield**_ … And you're _**freaking**_ amazing."

Any other time, Max would have sworn back at the other girl, reminding her to never (under any circumstances) refer to her by her full name. But now really didn't seem like the time.

She was brought out of whatever trance she'd been in, which felt like it lasted an hour, but in reality only lasted a couple seconds, by Chloe's voice again cutting through the storm; delivering the words they both knew were coming.

"M-Max… This… This is the only way…"

The taller girl's hand was outstretched, and in her palm was the very same photo she'd taken on the day she'd saved her for the first time, in the girl's bathroom. She mentally noted just how far away that memory seemed, when Chloe yet again cut into her thoughts, her voice now stronger, and less cracky, but filled with absolute emotion.

"You… You could use that photo… To change everything back to when you took that picture. All that would take is for me to… To—"

She didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence, as Max immediately cut in, her hands now coming up to rest on Chloe's shoulders, and pulling down the hands that had come up to rub at her face. "No! Fuck that! You—Chloe Price – Are my number one priority now! You are all that matters to me!"

Chloe pulled away, taking a step backwards, as if trying to physically distance herself. It was almost like she was trying to make the decision they both knew was to come a little easier. It was as if she thought that five feet distance would take away the guilt for her friend.

"M-Max, I know! You've proved it over and over again, even though I don't deserve it." She said, shaking her head, before gesturing out towards the bay, which was now starting to dismantle before their very eyes, being caught up in the cyclone. "I'm so selfish… Not like my mom… Look what she had to give up and live through."

"And she did! She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner!" She continued, now beginning to pace, her breaths and words becoming more panicky as time went on. "Even my stepfather deserves her alive! There are so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live… way more than me."

Now clutching at straws, Max shook her head, taking another couple of steps towards Chloe, tears now trailing down her already wet cheeks, mingling with the rain water. "Don't say that! I won't trade you!"

"You are not trading me, Max!" Chloe shot back, turning only momentarily, before resuming her slight pacing, seemingly working herself up for what was to come. "Maybe you've just been—I don't know—Delaying my real destiny! I mean, look how many times I've almost—or _**actually**_ – died around you! Look at what's happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me!"

The taller girl's face softened, and she moved closer to Max, the leather of her jacket squeaking in the rain, as she took her hands in her own, squeezing gently. "Please—I know, I've been selfish. But for once, I think I should accept my— _ **Our**_ fate."

"C-Chloe…"

"Max, you finally came back to me this week…" Chloe continued, her voice now calmer than ever, though still cracking as she spoke, caught up in the emotions that were flowing free between the two of them. "And you did nothing but show me your love, and friendship. You made me smile, and laugh like I haven't done in years."

"And I know that… wherever I end up after this… In whatever reality; all those moments between us? They were fucking real. And they'll always be damn well ours. So whatever you choose; wherever we go from here, I know you'll make the right decision."

"Chloe—I cannot make this choice!" It seemed that their roles were reversed, with Max the hysterical one, and Chloe being level-headed. The shorter brunette was now sobbing, her hair plastered to her forehead and dripping large droplets down her face.

"You're the only one who can, Max…"

A moment of thought passed over the girl, before she spoke, her voice cracking now in absolute distress. "C-Chloe, I-I… I don't wanna do this… I am so sorry…"

"I know, Max," Chloe stated, as she moved in, quickly embracing her best friend for what she thought would be the final time, trying to take in every minute detail of her. From the way her hair curled outwards slightly, to the individual freckles that lined Max's face. "But we have to. We have to save everyone, okay?"

She pulled away, and stood at arm's length again, staring into the bright blue eyes of her friend. "And you'll make those motherfuckers pay for what they did to Rachel." Her eyes softened, and she moved her hand to Max's forearm, trying to give her some sense of comfort from the gesture, which probably had the opposite effect on her. "Being together this week, it's… It's been the best farewell gift I could have hoped for."

"You… You're my hero, Max…"

The girl in question stood for a moment, taking in the words the other girl uttered, and replaying them over and over again in her head. Chloe… The girl she'd looked up to every day as a kid; aspired to be like in all aspects of her life, regarded her as a hero. Ever since elementary school, they'd been inseparable, whether it was playing pirates in the bay, or rocking out to pop-punk in their tweens.

Somewhere along the line, Max had developed feelings for her best friend. And somehow, deep down, she knew that Chloe felt exactly the same. She'd always thought her feelings had really started before she'd moved to Seattle, but had obviously settled once they'd lost touch with one another. But there was always that voice in the back of her head, telling her that there was a reason she'd never gotten past first base with anyone, or even developed any sense of romantic attraction to anyone since leaving Arcadia. There was also the fact that she'd literally jumped at the chance to kiss her when she'd been dared to, not caring about anything else, other than being given the chance to kiss the woman she'd been longing to kiss for so long.

That reason was Chloe Elizabeth Price; the woman she had fallen head over heels for, and would walk to the opposite end of the earth to make happy.

So, without thinking, Max moved forward, her arms coming up to rest her hands on the taller girl's cheeks, and her face moving up to press their lips together in a tender, passionate, and needy kiss.

Everything she felt came out through the one motion, heartbreak, adoration, love, distress, lust, need; it all came out as they stood, interlocked atop the Arcadia Cliff, beside the lighthouse they'd often played in together as children, and the stump they'd carved their names into aged ten.

The kiss itself ended all too soon for Max, as they untangled themselves, and Max lowered herself to the ground, her eyes locked onto Chloe's as she spoke. "I love you, Chloe…"

Then, she blinked. And just like that, the blue-haired, foul-mouthed punk with a shitty truck and an even worse attitude was gone.

* * *

She woke suddenly, jolting up in bed and breathing frantically, her hand coming up to run through her hair in distress. Her entire body seemed to be covered in sweat, despite only wearing one of Chloe's vests to bed, with a pair of boxer shorts, and not using the bed covers at all.

Only a moment passed before she began to calm, trying her best to even out her breathing as she replayed the rest of the dream in her head; the dream she'd had most nights now in the two years since that damned tornado had terrorized Arcadia Bay. Every night she'd see the woman she loved being shot through the stomach, falling limp to the floor with blood spilling out of a gushing wound, blue hair flopping to the side, as her beanie skidded across the floor.

Then it would always jump to the day of Chloe's funeral; with Max walking up that path wearing her black dress, and seeing the coffin waiting for them at the top of the hill. That was the part that would always wake her up. And that was the part that plagued her thoughts for every waking moment.

It was then that Max was shaken from her musings by the sound of a girl's voice beside her, trying desperately to get the brunette's attention. And all of a sudden, it was as if what had previously been a grey blur surrounding her suddenly cleared, revealing a somewhat tidy bedroom, with a large double bed, which was covered in a woodland-themed dream catcher duvet cover. Photographs littered the opposite wall to the bed, mounted in white frames, and were surrounded by paper lanterns, which were glowing gently in the early morning sunlight. Beneath the photographs was a white desk, piled high with sheets of paper, photographs, and various inks, along with Max's camera, which was sitting in pride of place beside her battered, old laptop.

However, the fact that she was in unfamiliar surroundings didn't mean anything to Max. No. What mattered to her was the woman that was sitting next to her, with eyes full of concern and love.

Once again, Chloe Elizabeth Price had changed. Long gone were the brightly coloured blue bangs, to be replaced with paler blue hair, cut short into a messy faux-hawk. She'd also gained another two piercings in both her nostril and her lip which were in the form of small, black studs, along with what looked to be another tattoo peeking out from beneath her tank top, which seemed (to her untrained eye) to be a stag, it's antler resting along Chloe's collarbone.

"Hey… Hey, Maxi-pad…" She soothed, smiling gently at the other woman, and rubbing her shoulders in circular motions, almost like she was soothing a baby. Of course, the ever-present humour was still evident in her voice, alongside pure worry at the state of the brunette. "Welcome to the world of the living… For a second there you were balls-deep in a panic attack."

"Y-you're…" Max started, her voice coming out hoarse and scratchy as she stared on at the other woman, her hand moving up to cup at her cheek, as if to make sure she was there, and she wasn't dreaming. "You're alive… Oh fuck, I… I thought you…"

She never managed to finish her sentence as Chloe just sighed, and wrapped her long, muscular arms around her, pulling her close to her chest and kissing the side of her head, her hand smoothing down the thick brown locks beneath her hand. "Your nightmare's back… Huh…?" She muttered as she ran her other hand over her back, unable to stop the soft, sad smile forming across her face. "You haven't had it in like a year and a half…"

When all she received from the woman in her arms was a further sob and a soft nod, Chloe continued, moving the smaller girl's head away from her shoulder, and pushing hair away from her face. "You saved me, Max… You didn't let me die back in that bathroom… And it turned out that the Arcadia Bay fire and police departments finally got their fingers from up their asses and formed an evacuation party… No one else died, Max…"

The information was met with a further, relieved sob, and she once again buried herself into Chloe, her face still buried into her best friend's torso, trying her hardest to remember everything she possibly could about the girl in front of her. From the way her chest rose and fell with each breath, to the slight smell of cigarettes that hung around her constantly.

After a moment, it seemed the shorter girl started to calm, her breaths slowing, and her face moving from its previous position to look up at Chloe.

"Listen," The blue haired girl eventually said, shifting slightly, and pushing some stray hair from the other woman's face, pecking her gently on the forehead before continuing. "Are you gonna be alright on your own while I shower? I swear I'll be back asap. But I think we lost like ten pounds in sweat alone last night. Who knew my wife was such a hornball, huh?" The words were followed by a small smirk, and another kiss, but this time to the lips.

"I'll be right next door, Maximus!" Chloe called over her shoulder as she left, leaving Max once again in silence, to mull over the events that had just played out.

She was married? To Chloe? How the hell could she have forgotten that?!

She reached up yet again, to run her hand through her hair, when a small glint of silver caught her eye, drawing her attention to her left hand's ring finger. Sure enough, a thin, silver wedding band inlaid with etchings of leaves and vines shone up at her, accompanied by a matching engagement ring adorning a tiny, blue stone in the centre.

Then, almost like a forceful punch, everything hit her all at once. Every memory, every fight, every date night, they all flew at her, and the sheer force that they returned had her reeling.

After the tornado hit Arcadia Bay, the two girls had somehow made their way back to Chloe's truck, where they'd bunked down for the night, not wanting to attempt driving in the sheer force of the cyclone heading their way. And, after the worst night either of them had ever endured, they'd set out, following the directions that were signposted for the Evacuation centre.

After an hour of silent, worried driving, they'd eventually found it, screeching to a halt in the parking lot of a small church; within which cots and spare clothes had been provided to those who'd lost their homes and belongings, which was near-enough everyone in Arcadia bay.

The hall was crowded, but the woman they were both eager to find had been unmistakeable. Her hair was up in its usual messy bun, an apron was firmly around her waist, and she was doling out porridge to her fellow residents, when she looked up and clapped eyes on the tall streak of blue hair that was her daughter. A clatter had echoed around the hall as she dropped the (thankfully empty) ladle from her hand, and she flung down the apron, launching towards the couple with every bit of energy she had, tears streaking her cheeks, as she threw her arms around Chloe.

"Oh, baby…" She'd muttered, clinging desperately to her, almost as if she'd float away if she didn't, while smoothing down Chloe's hair, who was crying as well by this point, having fully believed that her mother had been caught up in the Two Whales, which they'd seen had been completely decimated. "It's okay… We're okay… All'a us… Everythin's gonna be alright…"

It wasn't long before David was bounding over, wrapping his wife and step-daughter in his arms, looking as if he was on the brink of tears himself, as he pulled Max into the family hug, sharing a short, content moment with the women in his life for what seemed like the first time ever.

Things had progressed almost too fast after the reunion. Max had finished High School, graduating as one of the top of her class, before deciding upon moving, yet again, for college. She'd eventually decided on the University of Oregon, majoring in Photography, while Chloe had decided on an Art Major, in order to further pursue her newly-recognized ambition to become a tattoo artist. They'd also found their own place a little ways from campus, setting up home and making the place their own.

It wasn't huge; far from it - Just a small studio with one bedroom and a kitchen-come-living area. Though the one perk of living somewhere so tiny was that the bathroom was en-suite, meaning they wouldn't have to face the cold openness of the apartment before their morning shower. The kitchen had been decorated with a scheme reminiscent of the Two Whales Diner back home, which both Chloe and Max had insisted upon. They'd somehow managed to find a retro Diner booth in a thrift store, paying only fifty dollars for the four seats and table, with the brackets to attach them all to their wall, beneath their kitchen window.

Behind the seat, their fridge was situated; an old, retro appliance that Joyce had found in the classifieds. Not even two days later, they were thirty bucks lighter, but had gained a bright red refrigerator.

Then came their living room; A sofa and television, both kindly donated by Max's uncle Jerry, as a graduation and housewarming gift simultaneously. Sure, they weren't in the best condition. But they couldn't complain at all. Because despite them not matching (though Max could admit that she loved the mix-and-match theme of their furniture), they were theirs. Both of them felt that despite whatever was wrong with whatever they'd bought just gave the place more character, and they loved everything in spite of it.

They had lived in the apartment for little over a year when Chloe had popped the question, going full-traditional with the entire thing. However, they'd waited a little while to buy their engagement rings, saying that it was more financially responsible for them to buy them as a set with their wedding bands. And sure enough, two months later they'd been firmly on their fingers.

Another year and a half passed, and before either of them knew, the day arrived for them to exchange vows, finally becoming Mrs. And Mrs. Price in front of their entire family. Of course, the name change had earned nothing but teasing from Chloe, who'd insisted upon calling her new Wife nothing but 'Maximus Price' for the rest of the day, much to everyone except Max's amusement.

"Chloe!" She'd complained, upon being called it for the millionth time, leaning in to rest her forehead against her wife's shoulder. Her grandma Caulfield had simply looked on in amusement during the entire conversation, smirking at the two youngsters before her. "I don't want to look back at our wedding photos, or our wedding video, and remember being called Maximus Price! I sound like something out of—"

"Transformers. That's the entire point, Wife-of-mine." Chloe cut in, smirking at the playful shove she had received in response.

From there, the pair had set out on what they'd described to their friends and family as the trip of a lifetime, when in reality it was a road trip down to LA. They'd stayed there for two weeks before braving the fifteen hour journey back, taking shifts driving between the numerous bathroom breaks, returning only the day previous, at 10pm.

Max slowly stood from the bed, shaky and sleepy, as she got her footing, and made her way across to the full-length mirror to fully take in her appearance.

She would say that married life was treating her well, but that would make her a liar. Blood-shot, red-rimmed eyes stared back at her, with tear stained cheeks and pale skin beneath them. "Wow, hello again zombie face…" She muttered to herself, reaching up to run her hand through her hair yet again, and noticing now the most distinct change in her appearance.

She'd cut her hair.

Now sporting a side-parted pixie-cut, her bangs had been dyed a very subtle red (with it only being noticeable when the light shone on it) with the rest being the same mousey brown it had always been. It seemed like such a small change, but goddamn she looked so different because of it.

Long gone was the shy teenager who'd turned up to Blackwell academy (or Black _hell_ as Chloe would refer to it as). The shy girl who'd lived in hoodies, jeans, and t-shirts in order to be as plain as possible was replaced by a woman who wasn't afraid to be the centre of attention for once in her life.

Though her ducky night shirt remained ever-present.

A quick scan of the room revealed various photographs from the previous years, with most of them being from parties and outings they'd been on, while the rest were of their individual families throughout their childhoods.

Slowly, Max made her way towards the bathroom, and slipped inside, hearing Chloe's soft singing in the shower along to the shower radio they'd been given as a wedding present by Kate Marsh, their friend from school.

It didn't take long for her to strip down and quietly bundle her clothes into the laundry basket, before she stepped into the cubicle behind her wife, and wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist, burying her face into her back lovingly, as she felt the spray wash over her.

"Whoa," The taller woman said, a chuckle leaving her as she realized just who had joined her, her hand moving to cover her wife's hands on her stomach. She raised one and pressed a gentle kiss to it, before turning, and setting her own hands onto Max's waist, running the one she'd raised through her wife's short hair. "You seem a lot more relaxed… Back to this time zone now? Or did you blaze without me?"

Upon hearing just a small 'mm' noise in reply, Chloe chuckled, and once again ran her hand down Max's back, unknowingly coming to rest on her backside. "As much as I'd love to make good use of the shared shower, the whole fam's coming over in like, ten minutes. And you know how my mom can be when it comes to things being left messy. We got too into it last night and forgot to unpack."

Max looked up with a soft smile on her face at the thought, and leaned up on her toes, so their faces were mere inches apart, before gently bringing their lips together, more of a graze between their mouths than anything else. It was a kiss reminiscent to two teenagers having their first kiss, only less awkward and far more natural than either of them could even imagine.

It was a good minute and a half later that she lowered herself back to the ground, unclasping herself from her wife, and grinning up at her, her face flushed.

"I love you, Chloe…"

A moment passed, before Chloe leaned down, pressing a gentle peck to Max's lips, and she spoke up, grinning mischievously. "I love you too, Maximus Price."

"Chloe, you dick!" Max exclaimed, a laugh tearing from her as she broke away from her wife, dodging the hands that now sought out to tickle anything in their way.

Their plans ended up being completely forgotten until two minutes before their families' arrival.


End file.
